Yuna Kim | Page 166 | Golden Skate

Yuna Kim

chezzu

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 12, 2010
I'm from the Philippines too! Hello :D

I don't like thinking about Sochi, because to be completely honest I'm more of an Adelina fan than a Yuna fan (and oh Mao, my poor, poor Mao...) but I remember watching live and being aghast at Yuna's score because something was soooo off there... Sigh. Well, past is past :p

She handles everything with such class and grace though. Yuna is truly a queen of this sport :) Recently I've been so in-awe of how she treats her little Korean skaters! She's so nice! And so beautiful! How can someone be so perfect :)
 

nguyenghita

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 13, 2012
A quick translation of Yuna's latest interview. Thanks to inspiration @ YNKF

This is just so cool, she is really cool, totally cool. I love it :rock:

"I take it as a job and that’s not really different than something an office worker would do I think"

Q—How could you reach the top of your field?

A—“I take it as a job and that’s not really different than something an office worker would do I think. Though it might look more intense and demanding because everything happens in the nick of time on the ice. If something differentiates me from others. Well, I think it’d be more about getting back on the track; not my zoning-in ability per se. For instance, (a skater) tends to fumble through once that skater makes a mistake. A quick rebound is quintessential, so that you can stop that mistake from crushing the whole performance.

I think I am quite simple-minded, not really overthinking several things at a time, so I guess I was able to let that slide and rebound quite well. I think living “now” mentality is very important. I didn’t get ahead of myself into some distant future when I competed. One step at a time. Once I get this done, then the next step. That’s how I focused on what I was doing at each moment without thinking way too far ahead. Of course, I myself felt unsure about things a lot too, and this mindset helped me through.”
 
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jenm

The Last One Degree
Medalist
Joined
Jan 28, 2014
I'm from the Philippines too! Hello :D

I don't like thinking about Sochi, because to be completely honest I'm more of an Adelina fan than a Yuna fan (and oh Mao, my poor, poor Mao...) but I remember watching live and being aghast at Yuna's score because something was soooo off there... Sigh. Well, past is past :p

She handles everything with such class and grace though. Yuna is truly a queen of this sport :) Recently I've been so in-awe of how she treats her little Korean skaters! She's so nice! And so beautiful! How can someone be so perfect :)

Hello! :)

Yuna is truly the epitome of class and kind heart. I'm so happy and grateful that she has donated so much for the Yolanda victims. :)
 

anyanka

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 8, 2011
There have been a lot of posts on Yuna promoting that Maxim White Coffee product. Seems she's been promoting it for years. Has anyone tasted it? I may go to a local Korean grocer and see if it's any good ... but I'm also a coffee purist and don't drink instant, but for Yuna I will make an exception!!
 

nguyenghita

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 13, 2012
There have been a lot of posts on Yuna promoting that Maxim White Coffee product. Seems she's been promoting it for years. Has anyone tasted it? I may go to a local Korean grocer and see if it's any good ... but I'm also a coffee purist and don't drink instant, but for Yuna I will make an exception!!
Yes she promoted it since 2012, the profit increased from 100 billion won/year before to 400 billion won in 2014, now her brand is called "national's coffee" or simple "Yuna's coffee", the top 1 instant coffee in Korea.

This is exclusive for women, a taste is rather like milk, sweet, very light caffeine. Since she is very young, an athlete and her image is innocent, the first promotion was very sensitive "Yuna who used to drink milk all the time, now she tried coffee, how does it taste?" :biggrin:
 
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jenm

The Last One Degree
Medalist
Joined
Jan 28, 2014
There have been a lot of posts on Yuna promoting that Maxim White Coffee product. Seems she's been promoting it for years. Has anyone tasted it? I may go to a local Korean grocer and see if it's any good ... but I'm also a coffee purist and don't drink instant, but for Yuna I will make an exception!!

I saw it in a supermarket here in our country and immediately bought a box. hahaha
For my taste, it's a little bland (too creamy and light) but maybe it's because I put too much hot water. haha. But it smells really good. :)
I shared it with my officemates and they all liked it. I kept the box because Yuna's face is in it. haha
 

anyanka

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 8, 2011
Yes she promoted it since 2012, the profit increased from 100 billion won/year before to 400 billion won in 2014, now her brand is called "national's coffee" or simple "Yuna's coffee", the top 1 instant coffee in Korea.

This is exclusive for women, a taste is rather like milk, sweet, very light caffeine. Since she is very young, an athlete and her image is innocent, the first promotion was very sensitive "Yuna who used to drink milk all the time, now she tried coffee, how does it taste?" :biggrin:

Oh I'm sure a few guys would buy it. At this point, I think Yuna just has to point to a product she likes in public and half of Korea would immediately purchase it.
 

nguyenghita

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 13, 2012
Full KB Ineterview

When read it, I have a feeling the interview full of sincere, respect, admire and love from the interviewer/editor. That's rare. :think:

Thanks to Venus Dooly @ Golden Yuna

KB (Kookmin Bank) Gold and Wise - An Interview with Yuna Kim.

**2015 - To Live like Yuna Kim**

At the end of last year the sports journalists announced “The Top 10 News of the Year.” Among the news a story about Yuna Kim’s retirement caught my attention. Suddenly I was curious. Whether she has freedom, is she happy, and what kind of new dreams is she dreaming about.

What kind of changes has happened in her life.

*First Winter after Retirement*

For the past years, winter meant it’s the season of Yuna Kim to us. We watched her, who seemed to be gracefully dancing on ice, and we were moved. We cheered for her. We were happy.

Yuna Kim retired at the end of the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

New Winter. After her retirement I wondered how Yuna spends her first winter. I met her and asked if this winter gives any unusual meaning. I thought of Yuna Kim we know was living a different new life. I was curious about how someone who has experienced as the top of the field thru her own efforts was spending her time. But the reply was nothing I had expected.

“I go to the Taereung Ice Rink almost every day. I go to school to study since I’m a graduate student, and when I have time, I go to the Rink to check up on my juniors. It’s been a steady work since last summer. I watch them and offer advice on things to complement/compensate (weaknesses) or pay attention to. That doesn’t mean I act like their coach since they have their main coaches. I don’t meddle in their business from beginning to end. I just tell them this and that kind of stories from the side. They’ve all practiced with me since young so I’m just unni and nuna (older sister) to them.”

In all honesty, as I cover her interview I expected her answers to be something dramatic like ‘I can’t leave because I just love the ice rink’ or ‘I really can’t stand it now.’ However, still poised as ever, Yuna brightly laughed and said,

“I don’t have feelings like I especially hate the place or can’t stand it. It’s not that I can’t get away from the ice rink because I’m too familiar with it, it’s just fun to check up on the skaters. I've enjoyed watching them in training for a long time. Before my retirement, even after I stopped competing I thought of offering them advice while watching them like this if conditions allow. That is an immensely ordinary task for me. I enjoy doing it and it’s also rewarding because the juniors are doing great.”

So, to Yuna Kim retirement does not mean of something a big, fundamental change. Simply because she’s ending a competitive skating life, it does not mean she begins a new life.

“It doesn’t mean there’s no change. Having no physical pains is a significant change. I became more comfortable. We use our bodies so we have to treat our bodies carefully even while not training. Watching my diet, and also you’re not really free from pains. That’s why you can’t really relax and have fun even when you have time. You’re always in a state of tension. Just breaking free from that was a significant change. I also have spare time. During my competitive years I was busy sleeping from exhaustion after training, but these days I have time to breathe so it is a big change. Isn’t it a big change? I think I’m living an extremely different life, haha!”

*Things I Could Do*

Whether the temperature rises or drops, winter is same as it ever was just like Yuna’s life. Although she has wrapped up her figure skating career, she’s been silently doing her part as a pillar of the Korean figure skating world.

“I can’t say for sure, but it looks like I’ll be living a life that’s related to figure skating. What’s encouraging is that figure skating event has become more promising than the time I was skating. I often see some very young skaters who are so talented and skillful. It feels good to watch them, but on the other hand I know how the life of figure skating is like so I do feel so bad for them. But I want them to work hard and participate in the competitions. Of course they all are doing great so I’m very thankful of their efforts. As long as they work hard, I’ll be doing my share of work that I could do as their senior. I’ll also tell them things I learned from my experiences in the international competitions.”

*The Know-how of Becoming the Best*

If I were her junior(following her footsteps), I said her ‘concentration’ is the skill I’d most want to learn from her; however, she replied back, ‘but don’t people do that when they’re working on something?’ Of course, people do concentrate in whatever the work is. But as you know, Yuna’s concentration is something uniquely special.

“I think it’s not that much different from what office workers would do. Maybe it might look somewhat more demanding because it’s about the momentary battles of figure skaters? You must get back on the track in a nick of time. If there’s a different thing about me, I don’t know, it’s not really about concentration but perhaps I’m much more able to quickly rebound and get my ‘messed-up concentration’ back. For example, if you make a mistake during a skate, the whole mechanism of rhythm breaks and get messed up. You must quickly get back on track in such moment. You should not let the entire performance be about mistakes. I’m rather a simple-minded person so I’m not the type who thinks too much, and that’s why I could forget those things quickly and rebound.”

Yuna Kim, who so humbly mentions that all people work hard and she’s not much special from them. She added,
“I think it’s important to be dedicated in the present time. Even when I was competing I didn’t think far ahead. I only thought of what I was doing at the moment. ‘Let’s do this right. If I did this, then on to the next one, and the next..’ That’s how I focused on things that were before my very eyes. I too falter many times. But things those are ahead, when I think way too far ahead, my head becomes crowded and even messes up on things that’s in the present. It helped tremendously to be dedicated at the moment.”

Ah, that’s it. The reason Yuna Kim became Yuna Kim of today.

This moment Now, being dedicated in the present. Come to think of it, weren't we all following a distant dream? We didn’t search for an answer in the life that unfolded before our eyes but acted as if it was in another life.

*The Goal of Yuna Kim is to Live Happily*

Whatever she does, Yuna said her goal is to live happy. And she thinks she’s happy now. When I asked her the reason, ‘I particularly don’t think I’m unhappy’ she replied briefly.

Yuna Kim who’s so happy with her life right now wants to get a driver license this year. She would be happier if there’s a growing interest in the winter sports among people for the upcoming PyeongChang Olympics, because PC Olympics is simply not an event just to be held in Korea but is a festival for all the people around the world. She respectfully requests that there’s a bit more profound interest for the festival to gleefully take place in the host country.

She didn’t forget to add her word of blessing to all readers that the year 2015 brings only full of many great things.

Ring in the new year. What would it be like to live like Yuna Kim in 2015. It’s not to change everything just because a new year has begun; it’s to invest and live in the present, not for the future. You don’t have to be a gold medalist or the best in the field like Yuna Kim, but at least I think we all could live happily for the rest of the year.
 

Miss Ice

Let the sky fall~
Medalist
Joined
Apr 16, 2006
Full KB Ineterview

When read it, I have a feeling the interview full of sincere, respect, admire and love from the interviewer/editor. That's rare. :think:

Thanks to Venus Dooly @ Golden Yuna

Wow, thank you so much for sharing. It is interesting to see that she thinks of herself as a "simple-minded person" and that is what helps her recover in programs after her mistakes! I have always thought that she is quite a thoughtful one, and that the reason she could recover so well was because she simply had a very good work ethic in general and believed in herself a lot because of how much she practiced. At least that is what I usually got from her interviews. Plus, she is a fighter. That Kiss of the Vampire program at Korean Nationals where she slipped skating backwards and popped her first 3-3, she went right ahead and did another 3-3 clean to make up for it. That was not just being "simple minded", that is some serious guts, Yuna. :biggrin:
 

Warwick360

Medalist
Joined
Dec 3, 2014
Wow, thank you so much for sharing. It is interesting to see that she thinks of herself as a "simple-minded person" and that is what helps her recover in programs after her mistakes! I have always thought that she is quite a thoughtful one, and that the reason she could recover so well was because she simply had a very good work ethic in general and believed in herself a lot because of how much she practiced. At least that is what I usually got from her interviews. Plus, she is a fighter. That Kiss of the Vampire program at Korean Nationals where she slipped skating backwards and popped her first 3-3, she went right ahead and did another 3-3 clean to make up for it. That was not just being "simple minded", that is some serious guts, Yuna. :biggrin:

I don't think her identifying herself as simple minded equated to absence of strong work ethic and her belief in practice. On the contrary I feel it's only on the context of letting a bad stuff be forgotten quickly both in short and long term. Lord only knows how many of us have held on to our failures for weeks, months and even years. And I also remember from "The lark ascending" documentary, where her mother described her as being strong willed and resilient while at the same time being introverted as evident from the lack of "verbose" nature.

And I checked the national video which I had never done before, and my god how she saved herself from potential disaster. :jaw: Something I had been willing for Polina Edmunds to do when she screwed her combination in SP one too many times.
 

Miss Ice

Let the sky fall~
Medalist
Joined
Apr 16, 2006
I don't think her identifying herself as simple minded equated to absence of strong work ethic and her belief in practice. On the contrary I feel it's only on the context of letting a bad stuff be forgotten quickly both in short and long term. Lord only knows how many of us have held on to our failures for weeks, months and even years. And I also remember from "The lark ascending" documentary, where her mother described her as being strong willed and resilient while at the same time being introverted as evident from the lack of "verbose" nature.

And I checked the national video which I had never done before, and my god how she saved herself from potential disaster. :jaw: Something I had been willing for Polina Edmunds to do when she screwed her combination in SP one too many times.

I completely agree. I was being ironic. I don't actually believe she really is simple-minded or really thinks so deep down. She is just too humble. In my opinion, the right word for being able to move on quickly from your mistakes and taking things step by step is "wise", not "simple-minded". Oh humble Yuna. ;)

Yeah, 99.9% of skaters in her situation would be doomed after that slip, but she came back full force, and then completely killed it in the LP too (not that she had any competition, but still!).
 
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nguyenghita

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 13, 2012
:shocked::shocked: :jaw: Yuna is GORGEOUS!
btw, anyone know if there will be an ATS show this summer? this season's been so meh (at least for me). I need my Yuna fix :cry:
There will be 2 show this year as regular schedule. Korean fan confirmed this while ago.
 
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